Too high water50 pressure?

[Quack]

Hello everyone.

I have 2 questions which may or may not be related.

1.) I think my water pressure regulator is faulty. If I screw in a water pressure test gauge into a garden hose outlet, and leave no other faucets open, it reads about 95-100 psi. However, when I open a valve inside (just a slight crack), it goes to 50 psi. In addition, if I turn on the kitchen sink faucet, initially the water comes out really, really fast, but then noticeably slows down. As soon as I stop all the faucets, the pressure returns (almost immediately) to 95-100 psi. I have city water.

Is my water pressure regulator faulty? I don't think I have an expansion tank, so I don't know if I should add one first. The pipes are all buried, so I'd guess they would be at a relatively constant temperature. I have tried turning the adjustment screw to lower the pressure, but then the running pressure is way too low. Is it normal that the static and moving water pressure would be so far apart?

2.) I have a Fleck 5600 SXT water softener. I've had 2 leaking issues. Both times, the turbine meter assembly (a cheaply made, but ungodly expensive part) has broken. Here's a picture of it. What would cause this part to start leaking after only 1 month in use. Would having a static water pressure of 90 psi do it? I figure you would need much higher psi's for it to fail.

Thanks!

 

[Gary Swart]

I think you are right about the PRV. They do wear out and need rebuilding or replacing. Ideally, the hose bib(s) should be connected to the water supply before the PRV. That gives you full pressure outside. Not absolutely necessary, just nice to have lots of pressure outside. Anytime you have a PRV, you need a thermal expansion tank. I am surprise you haven't had a leaking T/P valve on the water heater, but perhaps there is a leaking toilet valve. High pressure does bad things to washer valves and toilet valves, so it would seem reasonable to assume it would do the same to a water softener. I believe that 80 psi is about the highest pressure you should have in a house, although much less is better. I have mine set at 50 psi and that is quite enough in my opinion. Others may suggest 60 or 65 lbs, and I won't get into an argument about that, but with a good PRV and expansion tank in place, you can experiment with different pressures and find out what you like. You do have to adjust the air pressure in the expansion tank anytime you change the PRV so they match, but that isn't too difficult to do.

 

[Sponsor]

 

[Jimbo]

A PRV can fail in two ways...you have BOTH.

 

[hj]

Your PRV IS defective, and that is probably why the lack of an expansion tank has not caused any symptoms. Your pressure increase is NOT thermal expansion.

 

[Quack]

Next question then.

How do you fix a PRV? According to the tag, it is a Wilkins Model 70. I found a "repair kit" on the Internet for about $50. I also some new PRVs (from Watts) online for about $50.

What the best course? Is the Wilkins Model 70 a good PRV? Should I just buy the repair kit and rebuild it? (It seems easier to me to just rebuild the damn thing...)

Also, what expansion tank should I get? I understand they should be sized. My water heater is 74 gallons. According to Watts, I guess that means I need about a 4.5 gallon tank. Does that all sound right?

Thanks!

 

[Jadnashua]

A rebuild replaces the seals and springs, but if the seats are pitted or otherwise damages, the rebuild won't work. Don't know the proportion of successful rebuilds. A plumber is paid by time, and the time to rebuild verses replace makes replacing cheaper, plus, if a rebuild had problems, then you'd have to pay more to replace. Depends on how much your time is worth to you, if you're doing it yourself.

Sizing an expansion tank requires knowing the size of the WH and the temperature rise. If that's what their calculator says, that should work.

 

[Quack]

Alright, last question, I swear.

I bought a thermal expansion tank. I'm going to add some copper pipe and put it against the wall with Earthquake tie-downs. The instruction's diagrams have a permanent pressure gauge in as well.

The pressure gauges at home depot and lowe's are pretty crappy. Cheap plastic. I'd prefer not to have that in my system if I can help it. Also, the heater is in the attic, meaning I would rarely see such a gauge. I'm a believer in keeping it simple. More parts means more places to fail, and a failure in the attic would be a nightmare. Is it necessary to have a pressure gauge near the expansion tank? I would be happy knowing I can just use the hose bib to get the pressure if I ever need to.

 

[Cacher_Chick]

The expansion tank can be installed anywhere in the piping system. You can put a gauge anywhere in the piping system also.

 

[Gary Swart]

The expansion tank does not require earthquake straps, but it does have to be well supported. The Watts tanks have a good illustration of various ways to do this. Typically, the expansion tank is installed in the supply line (cold) between the PRV and water heater.

 

[hj]

prv

Your time is "free"', but I would NEVER spend the time and money to repair ANY prv.

 

[Ballvalve]

http://www.grainger.com/Grainger/WATTS-Water-Pressure-Reducing-Valve-1GAH6?Pid=search

And REAL gauges: 4-1/2" USA made

http://www.grainger.com/Grainger/MILJOCO-Pressure-Gauge-4FFN2?Pid=search

You do not have to suffer at the hands of home depression and China.

 

[Jastori]

You do not have to suffer at the hands of home depression and China.

The only glitch is that I don't think grainger will sell directly to an individual.... they want an 'organization' associated with the user registration in order to purchase through the site. Fortunately, I think the standards for an 'organization' are fairly minimal.... adding 'Plumbing' to your last name should do it.

 

[JohnBee]

Hello everyone.

2.) I have a Fleck 5600 SXT water softener. I've had 2 leaking issues. Both times, the turbine meter assembly (a cheaply made, but ungodly expensive part) has broken. Here's a picture of it. What would cause this part to start leaking after only 1 month in use. Would having a static water pressure of 90 psi do it? I figure you would need much higher psi's for it to fail.

Thanks!

That turbine assembly is cheaply made. My system started leaking from the turbine 2 days after I installed the softener. There were hairline cracks along each side around screw that holds the clip, and water was leaking through one of the screw holes (on the turbine side). The screw is a bit over-sized, and puts enough strain on the plastic to crack it, even if you're careful to not over tighten. My supplier sent me a warranty replacement, and I used a clamp instead of the screws to hold the clips in place.